Wednesday, 21 June 2017

The Snow Kimono - Mark Henshaw

DescriptionOn the same day that retired police inspector Auguste Jovert receives a letter from a woman claiming to be his daughter, he returns to his Paris apartment to find a stranger waiting for him.

That stranger is a Japanese professor called Tadashi Omura. What's brought him to Jovert's doorstep is not clear, but then he begins to tell his story - a story of a fractured friendship, lost lovers, orphaned children, and a body left bleeding in the snow.

As Jovert pieces together the puzzle of Omura's life, he can't help but draw parallels with his own; for he too has lead a life that's been extraordinary and dangerous - and based upon a lie.ReviewHaving recently been to Japan I have begun to be attracted to books associated with Japan. This book was recommended in an article, not realising it had won an award, I would otherwise have been wary as those books are often too "literary" for my tastes.

Overall I found this book very confusing - I decided to just go with it and read on not really understanding how sections of the book linked together. The story weaves back and forth across time and held my interest briefly with some of the narrative, but there was always the nagging doubt in my mind of how it related to the present day. There is also the "other wordly" side to the book for which you must suspend disbelief.

When I finished the book I read the beginning again and this gave me some semblance of closure on the book.